read between the lines
by splendidlyimperfect
Summary: Natsu ends up next to a cute stranger on the plane, and it turns out they share the same taste in books.


"I, uh, have the window."

Sting shifted nervously, holding his bag against his chest as the young man in the aisle seat looked up at him. The plane was crowded and someone bumped into Sting from behind, knocking him forward into the man's knee.

"Oh, sorry!" The man smiled widely and pushed himself out of the seat to make room for Sting. Sting shuffled awkwardly past him, squeezing through the tiny space until he was settled next to the window. He glanced out at the snow-dusted tarmac as he shoved his bag under the seat in front of him.

"These seats are so tiny, hey?" The man brushed his bright pink hair out of his eyes and gave Sting a lopsided grin that made Sting's stomach jump.

"Yeah." Sting tried to smile and hoped he didn't look ridiculous. He brought his hand up self-consciously to the beanie hiding his hair, wishing that he'd showered before getting on the plane.

"You from here, or heading home?" The guy leaned back in his seat, turning to face Sting. He was wearing a faded AC/DC t-shirt and had an intricate, colorful tattoo running up his left arm.

"Uh, home," Sting said, bouncing his knee nervously. He glanced out the window again, pulling his seatbelt tight as the plane began to back up. "You?"

"Home too," the man said. He frowned as Sting gripped the armrest tightly. "Don't like flying?"

Sting shook his head, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "I get sick," he admitted, feeling his stomach roil as the plane began to move faster. "Not like, I'm not gonna throw up or anything," he added hastily. "So you don't have to – I mean, I don't-"

"Me too," the guy said. He leaned down and grabbed his bag, then dug through it for a pack of gum. He offered it to Sting. "Ginger," he explained, sticking out his tongue to show he was chewing it too. "Sounds stupid, but it actually helps."

Sting accepted a piece tentatively, then made a face as he put it in his mouth. "That's… gross," he said, chewing it anyway.

"Yeah," the guy said, laughing. "I'm Natsu, by the way." He reached out a hand to shake.

"Sting." Natsu's hand was warm in his, and Sting felt his mouth go dry at the contact.

Natsu made small talk as the plane taxied down the runway, wind roaring around them. Sting was so busy listening to Natsu talk that he didn't have time to be sick when they took off.

"…tattoo convention was really cool, I met a lot of awesome people." Natsu gave Sting a half-smile and Sting almost forgot what they were talking about. "You have any tattoos?"

Sting blinked. "Uh, yeah," he said, rolling up his sleeve to show the dragon tattooed there. It curled up his forearm and continued past his elbow, ending at his shoulder. Natsu's eyes widened and he grabbed Sting's arm, turning it to look at the work. The feel of Natsu's fingers on Sting's skin made him suck in a sharp breath.

"This is Yukino's work, right?" Sting frowned, nodding. "We apprenticed together, she's awesome. That's a nice piece."

"Th-thanks," Sting said, swallowing as Natsu withdrew his fingers and settled back in his seat. The flight attendant's voice came over the loudspeaker, interrupting whatever he'd been going to say next.

A somewhat awkward silence descended over them after the announcement, and Sting chewed the inside of his cheek as he pulled his book out of his bag. When it seemed like Natsu was finished talking, he opened the book and started to read.

* * *

Natsu yawned, flipping through the playlists on his phone. Nothing interested him, and he'd forgotten his book at Lucy's place. He bounced his knee, tugging out his earbuds and turning to Sting, hoping a conversation with a cute guy would alleviate his boredom.

He was surprised to see that Sting was crying.

"Are… you okay?" Natsu asked uncertainly. Sting looked up quickly, wiping at his face with the back of his hand and sniffling. His cheeks were red and his gaze dropped back to the book in his lap.

"S-sorry," he stuttered. "I just…"

 _Fuck, he's cute,_ Natsu thought, watching Sting's tongue peek out between his teeth as he tried to think up an excuse for crying.

"Hey, I'm not judging, man." Natsu gave him a wide smile. "I cried when Dobby died, it's all good." Sting gave a wet laugh, sniffling again and rubbing his eyes. "What're you reading?"

"It's, uh…" Sting looked embarrassed and ran his fingers over the page. "It's this young adult thing, I just… I like to read… I know I'm an adult, but-"

"Hey, me too!" Natsu turned in his seat so he was facing Sting and glanced at the spine of the book. _The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue._ "I haven't read that one. It's sad?"

Sting laughed a little, tapping the book. "No, I mean, it's actually really funny, but there's… this part just kinda got to me." He looked at Natsu hesitantly, then looked back at the book and started to read. _"We are not broken things, either of us."_ His voice wavered a little. _"We are cracked pottery, mended with lacquer and flakes of gold, whole as we are, complete unto each other, complete and worthy and so very loved."_

"Shit," Natsu breathed. "That's… wow." He let the words settle for a moment sa Sting rubbed at his face again. "It's a romance, then?"

Sting's laugh was subdued, and he tipped his head back and forth uncertainly. "Sorta. It's… this gay pining romance set in the seventeen-hundreds, and it's got alchemy, and pirates, and adventure and it's really, really good, it's one of my favourite books."

Natsu smiled at the way Sting's face lit up while he talked, his fingers curling around the book protectively. "Sounds awesome," Natsu said. He hesitated for a second, then added, "especially the gay part, you don't find a lot of that."

Sting eyes darted up to Natsu's, and Natsu could feel the silent conversation hanging in the air between them. _Are you? I am. You are? We are._ They both gave each other silly grins.

The rest of the flight went by quickly – too quickly, if Natsu was being honest. The longer he talked to Sting, the more he liked him. He was smart, funny, and shy in an incredibly endearing way. When the captain announced that the plane would be starting its descent soon, Natsu felt a pang in his chest.

"I guess I'll, uh… have to get that out of the library," Natsu said, gesturing to the book that was now tucked into Sting's bag.

"Y-yeah," Sting said, eyes dropping to his lap. "You should. I think you'd like it."

Natsu looked at him, trying to drag up the courage to ask for Sting's number. "I'm sure I will," he said instead, kicking himself internally. "I should, uh, washroom. Before we land."

After the plane landed and they had filed out into the airport, the two of them stood awkwardly at the baggage claim, watching the colourful luggage go around and around. A bright pink duffel bag came by and Sting grabbed it, grinning when Natsu raised an eyebrow at it.

"I like pink, what can I say." Sting hefted the bag over his shoulder, then rested his hand on the zipper of his shoulder bag hesitantly. He looked up at Natsu again, then opened the bag, pulled out the book, and handed it to Natsu. "I've got two copies, you should… you can keep it."

Natsu took the book slowly and Sting withdrew, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at the ground. The embossing on the book's cover was rough under Natsu's fingers and he couldn't help a small smile at the pink flush that dusted Sting's cheeks.

"Thanks," he said softly, seeing that his bag was passing them but ignoring it in favor of looking at Sting. "I'm looking forward to reading it."

"Sting!" A shout from further down the airport drew both men's attention, and Natsu could see a blonde girl who looked remarkably like Sting waving at him. Sting waved back, then took a step away from Natsu.

"I gotta go," he said hastily, chewing on his lip. He looked like he might say something more, but instead he waved shyly at Natsu, then turned on his heel and headed toward the girl.

Natsu looked down at the book in his hands, turning it back and forth and feeling a sense of disappointment settle in his chest. Why hadn't he said something? He sighed as he waited for his luggage to come around again.

When he was settled on the shuttle back to his car, Natsu opened the book and flipped through it. It was clearly well-loved, and there were little notes in the corners in what he assumed was Sting's messy writing. Passages were underlined and pages were dog-eared, and Natsu eventually came to a page with a ticket stub sticking out of it.

He frowned, tugging the ticket out – it was Sting's ticket from their recent flight. It had been covering up a passage of the book that had been underlined in purple pen.

 _It is remarkable how much courage it takes to kiss someone, even when you are almost certain that person would very much like to be kissed by you. Doubt will knock you from the sky every time._

Natsu laughed softly, looking back at the ticket and seeing the same messy writing. A smile crept across his face as he read the note.

 _I'm sorry, I'm shy and kind of an idiot around cute guys. If you like the book, we could talk about it over coffee? 555-2546 ~Sting_

Natsu grinned and ran his fingers over the ticket, then grabbed his phone from his pocket and saved the number. He hesitated, glancing out the bus window at the soft snow drifting down from the sky before finally writing a message.

 _Haven't read the book yet (obviously), so I can't say if I'll like it, but I definitely like you._ Natsu chewed his lip, then added, _Thursday sound good?_

Natsu could feel his cheeks flush as he pressed send, and he couldn't keep the stupid smile off his face. He tucked his phone back into his pocket – making sure the ringer was on – then opened the book and started to read.


End file.
